San Diego, CA-The Fleet Science Center's popular exhibition, Taping Shape, will return to the museum on February 24, 2018, in its next iteration, as Taping Shape 2.0. Just like in the original Taping Shape, hundreds of rolls of conventional packing tape are unfurled, webbed and layered together in Taping Shape 2.0 to create a maze of translucent rooms and tunnels for visitors of all ages to learn, explore and delight in. Taping Shape 2.0 is part art installation, part marvel of science, part exploration of mathematics.   Explorers will find themselves suspended above the ground in the weaving tunnels and opaque rooms of Taping Shape 2.0. The translucent nature of the packing tape creates an otherworldly effect on the light coming into the structure. Surfaces curve and slope to create a smooth, continuous network of cocooning passageways. The layered bands of tape disperse the weight of the exhibition's explorers and produce springy surfaces and tunnels large enough to crawl into. Observers will also marvel at the surprising technology of packing tape--one inch of packing tape can have a tensile strength of more than 35 pounds per inch width.   The ethereal beauty and creativity of the structure will fascinate anyone's inner artist. Taping Shape 2.0 will be as intriguing to experience from the outside looking in as it is to move inside of it. Visitors can delve into the interpretive area of the exhibition to learn about the complex mathematics that inspired the physical nature of the structure.   This version of Taping Shape 2.0 is a deeper exploration into topology, the study of shapes and spaces, which was first explored in Taping Shape in 2016. Taping Shape 2.0 explores knot theory, which is the study of mathematical knots. Though that may at first seem to be an unfathomable topic, knots are all around you, from shoelaces to neckties. Knots are even inside you.      "Taping Shape was wildly popular, so we're delighted to offer Taping Shape 2.0 for our visitors," said Steve Snyder, CEO of the Fleet Science Center. "This is an intriguing exhibition that visitors can enter and explore."   Taping Shape 2.0 will spark wonder and excitement surrounding the unusual and unexpected use of materials and forms. The exhibition opens February 24, 2018 and is included with the cost of Fleet admission. And in case you're wondering what happens to all of that tape at the end of the exhibition's run ... it's recyclable!   Taping Shape 2.0 was developed by the Fleet Science Center, in partnership with Elizabeth Denne, PhD.   For more information, visit the website at:  www.fleetscience.org/exhibitions/taping-shape-20.   # # #   To schedule an interview and a media tour of Taping Shape 2.0, please contact Fleet Science Center Communications Manager Karla Nafarrate at 619-685-5743 or knafarrate@rhfleet.org.   Press images can be found at:  www.fleetscience.org/press-room/images/exhibitions#19820     # # #     About Elizabeth Denne: Elizabeth Denne grew up in Australia and graduated with a BSc (Hons) from the University of Sydney. She moved to the United States to complete a PhD in mathematics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Having held positions at Harvard University and Smith College, she is now an Associate Professor at Washington & Lee University. Her research interests are centered on geometric knot theory, using topological invariants to answer questions about the geometry of knots. Recently, she has become interested in using 3D printing to make mathematical models for use in both research and the classroom.